BAD news for South Africa's next public holiday
No doubt, eyes will have quickly turned to the next public holiday on the calendar.
However, there's some BAD news in that regard!
The next public holiday is scheduled to be National Women's Day on Saturday, 9 August.
That day will sadly be 'lost' as it falls on a Saturday and it will just be a 'normal' weekend day.
The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday , the Monday following it will also be a public holiday.
However, for public holidays that fall on a Saturday , it's just a 'normal' weekend day.
Of course, the fewer days off, the better for business in the country.
The next public holiday which will result in a day off from work will be Wednesday, 24 September when Heritage Day – or Braai Day as it's become commonly known – will be celebrated.
National Women's Day is a South African public holiday celebrated annually on 9 August.
The day commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20 000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to petition against the country's pass laws that required South Africans defined as 'black' under The Population Registration Act to carry an internal passport, known as a passbook, that served to maintain population segregation, control urbanisation, and manage migrant labour during the apartheid era.
The march was led by Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophia Williams.
Other participants included Frances Baard, a statue of whom was unveiled by Northern Cape Premier Hazel Jenkins in Kimberley (Frances Baard District Municipality) on National Women's Day 2009.
The first National Women's Day was celebrated on 9 August 1995.
In 2006, a reenactment of the march was staged for its 50th anniversary, with many of the 1956 march veterans.
There are FIVE long weekends in 2025.
Four have already passed with the fifth and final one scheduled to be four-day long weekend with Christmas and the Day of Goodwill (Boxing Day) falling on a Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Diarise the following public holidays in 2025 and plan your vacations accordingly!
Wednesday, 1 January: New Year's Day
Friday, 21 March: Human Rights Day
Friday, 18 April: Good FridayMonday, 21 April: Family Day
Sunday, 27 April: Freedom Day
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
27 minutes ago
- IOL News
US-SA relations strained as leaks unveil mistrust within governments, warns expert
US President Donald Trump's February executive order in February establishing the program specified that it was for "Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination," referring to an ethnic group descended mostly from Dutch settlers. Image: AFP US foreign policy expert Michael Walsh has warned that the recent 'leaks' between the US and the South African governments were indications of deep mistrust between the two administrations. Reuters reported on Saturday that US embassy Charge d'Affaires in South Africa, David Greene, reached out to Washington asking for clarification whether non-whites such as "coloured" South Africans who speak Afrikaans qualify for the refugee program for South Africans under the contentious US policy. US President Donald Trump's February executive order in February establishing the program specified that it was for "Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination," referring to an ethnic group descended mostly from Dutch settlers. Walsh - a non-resident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, an American think tank based in Pennsylvania - said on Sunday that the US leak suggested that there was unease with the Trump Administration's policy stance on South Africa within the US. Department of State. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Walsh said since reports indicate that the question was asked in an official diplomatic cable from the US Embassy in South Africa, it means there was someone within the US Government who had access to that confidential cable who was willing to violate information handling protocols in order to throw the Trump Administration under the bus. 'No one should take that lightly. Whoever leaked the information in that cable would have known that it would play right into the hands of the Trump Administration's critics in the United States and abroad,' Walsh said. 'In other words, they would have known that it would have led to the characterization of Trump - and by extension the US Government - as racist. That makes it an extraordinary leak. It suggests that there are elements within the US Government who want to undermine the policy platform of the administration.' However, Walsh said what was not clear was whether their underlying motivation was to undercut the refugee program for Afrikaners or the president himself. Either way, he said this leak is likely to elicit a response from the White House and that would be bad news for the US-South Africa relations. This comes as the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs last week passed a bill which seeks to re-evaluate the bilateral relationship between the United States and South Africa, and identify government leaders who should be subject to sanctions. South Africa is also hoping for the US to extend the 1 August deadline for the implementation of the 30% import tariffs on South African products such as agricultural products, metals and vehicles. Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, last week told Parliament that South Africa has signed a key agreement with the US trade representative, days before new import tariffs are set to take effect. South Africa has no representative in Washington to whom the US government can speak after the expulsion of Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool and the stymied assumption of office by the Presidential Envoy, Mcebisi Jonas. Democratic Alliance MP Emma Powell recently issued a statement alleging that Jonas had been denied entry to the US and that the country refused to accept his credentials. Walsh said this leak suggested that there was something rotten in the Government of National Unity. He said the DA has made the US Government and other international actors aware of potential threats to Powell, adding that these threats were being taken seriously in Washington. 'When you consider these leaks, I would argue that it becomes clear that there is a latent parallel that can be drawn between what is happening in the United States and South Africa,' Walsh said. 'It revolves around the internal disagreements that are being waged within the governments over the official foreign policy of the country with respect to the other. 'In the US, that battle is being waged between President Trump and his bureaucrats. In South Africa, it is between the ANC and DA. The leaks manifest those conflicts in a particularly visceral way.' BUSINESS REPORT
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Zim activist Duke Maplanka Atterbell criticises South Africa's treatment of foreign nationals
Hope Ntanzi | Published 18 hours ago Zimbabwean activist Duke Maplanka Atterbell says the South African government is complicit in systemic discrimination against foreign nationals and has failed to act in the face of escalating xenophobic violence and medical exclusion. In a formal letter dated 27 July 2025, addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of health, Minister of home affairs and the South African Human Rights Commission , Atterbell accused the state of both silence and active neglect, warning of formal complaints to African and international human rights bodies if urgent action is not taken. "I write this letter as both a concerned African citizen and a representative voice of thousands of foreign nationals, especially Zimbabweans, living in South Africa," Atterbell said. He described a worsening situation where 'foreign nationals are being chased out of hospitals, clinics, and even maternity wards. Others are beaten in the streets, publicly humiliated, or threatened by vigilantes emboldened by government silence.' His letter denounced what he calls a double standard in South Africa's global human rights stance, referencing Pretoria's condemnation of injustice abroad while allegedly turning a blind eye at home. 'How can South Africa claim the mantle of human rights defender abroad, while at home it presides over de facto ethnic cleansing through economic and medical exclusion? This hypocrisy is staggering,' he said. Atterbell warned that if no action is taken, he will escalate the matter by filing complaints with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the South African Human Rights Commission. He also promised to engage in public advocacy and international media exposure. 'This is not governance, it is abandonment,' he wrote. 'This is not the South Africa that the continent stood behind during the anti-apartheid struggle. This is not Ubuntu.' Atterbell's appeal comes amid rising tensions in the country over undocumented migration, especially concerning access to jobs and healthcare. In March 2024, radio personality Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma launched March and March, a non-governmental organisation that actively campaigns against the employment and public healthcare access of undocumented foreign nationals in South Africa. What began in KwaZulu-Natal has now spread nationally, with March and March volunteers stationed at entrances of hospitals including Addington Hospital, RK Khan Hospital, and various Gateway Clinics across the province. The group screens patients before entry, turning away those unable to produce South African ID documents. 'We operate where the government has failed,' the group has said. While critics have labelled it a vigilante operation targeting vulnerable people, the organisation continues to draw strong support from South Africans who believe hospitals are being overrun by foreigners. Responding to Atterbell's letter, Ngobese-Zuma posted on Facebook: ' He is Zimbabwean and writes to OUR President and not HIS… Kshuthi ngampela they believe they are South African‼️ Kshuthi we owe them‼️ Kshuthi we must intensify our fight because mentally these ppl don't think that we are serious.'' (Translated : He is Zimbabwean and writes to OUR President and not HIS… Maybe, seriously, they believe they are South African! Maybe we owe them! Maybe we must intensify our fight because mentally these people don't think that we are serious.'') Atterbell was quick to respond addressing Ngobese-Zuma in defiant terms. 'When Dudula royalty thinks they can intimidate you,' he said, in reference to her association with nationalist movements. 'Jacinta Zinhle MaNgobese Zuma, let's get one thing straight. I am not here to bow before self-appointed foot soldiers of hate. ''I am an enigma, not because I hide, but because I refuse to allow you to spread your bitter view of patriotism unchecked. I am a fearless advocate for human rights, not because it's easy, but because people like you have made silence a weapon. And yes, I am a hater of bigotry — proudly, loudly, and unapologetically.' He continued, accusing Ngobese-Zuma of masking fear as nationalism: 'You walk around with your chest puffed out like you're some gatekeeper of South Africa's soul. But what you really are is a loud emblem of fear, disguised as pride. You lead mobs, I lead with conscience. You shout in mobs, I speak in truth. You weaponise suffering, I document it.' Addressing her direct challenge, Atterbell wrote: 'You asked, 'Who are you?' Let me answer clearly: I am the one your hate cannot reach and your intimidation cannot shake. ''I am the storm you didn't see coming, and the voice you'll wish you hadn't tried to silence. Because while you scream for borders, I fight for bridges. While you hunt the vulnerable, I summon accountability. And while you wave your flag with fury, I carry the Constitution with fire.' 'So no, MaNgobese. I won't be quiet. Not now. Not ever,'' said Atterbell. Atterbell, however, insists that the fight is not against South Africa, but for human dignity. 'If your government fails to act, history, and international law, will remember it not for its silence, but for its complicity.' [email protected] Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. IOL News
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Where are the Basotho military-style camps in South Africa? SAPS has found no evidence
National commissioner of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), advocate Borotho Matsoso said the information about Basotho getting military-style training at certain farms is legitimate. Image: Lesotho Mounted Police Service/Facebook The South African Police Service (SAPS) said it has not found any military-style camps training Basotho within South Africa's borders, following assertions by authorities in Lesotho. Last week, IOL reported that authorities in the Kingdom of Lesotho insist they have credible information about Basotho undergoing military-style training in certain farms within South Africa, as part of the growing campaign to fight for the contentious land in South Africa's provinces. The claimed land includes parts of Free State, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. On Sunday, the co-chairperson of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJoints) in South Africa, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili stated that investigations have been conducted in different parts of South Africa, but nothing has been found to back the Lesotho authorities' information. "Yes, we did receive an alert following the revelations made by the police commissioner of Lesotho. We were alerted by the statement that was on his social media account and we did not rest from the time that we received such. We have deployed all our operatives on the ground to establish the facts, including our bilaterals that we are having, because we do have bilaterals with Lesotho," Mosikili spoke to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika. She said several engagements were also made within the SAPS, bringing in provincial and national sections of the law enforcement agency, without discounting the alarm raised by the Lesotho police. "To date, I can confirm to South Africans as well as the national commissioner issued a statement (on Saturday) that with the reports that are at our disposal at this point, there is no such confirmation from the areas that we have deployed," said Mosikili. "We have not established any such training, but we are continuing as the security of South Africa to engage, and secondly, to have our operatives on the ground, to check. The appeal that I want to make to South Africans this evening is that if there is such, that they can observe, they need to alert the authorities, and we will do the necessary investigation. "To date, we have not established any training that is happening in South Africa that is of a military nature," she said. IOL previously reported that earlier this month, a Lesotho member of parliament, Dr Tshepo Lipholo, leader of the Basotho Covenant Movement, a political party that has been leading the charge in demanding the return of Lesotho's "stolen land" which is part of current-day South Africa, was arrested and charged in the mountain kingdom. Lipholo faces serious charges, including sedition and incitement, and is also accused of violating the dignity and reputation of Lesotho's royal family by allegedly declaring himself the 'paramount chief of Basotholand' and encouraging young Basotho to prepare for armed struggle. It is alleged that audio clips circulating on social media platforms prove these claims. Lipholo has been leading the charge, calling for certain sections of South Africa to be declared Lesotho's territory. Limpholo wants the land to be returned to the governance of Lesotho. Earlier this year, Lipholo travelled to the United Nations, where he submitted a claim that seeks to reclaim land lost during the colonial era. However, Lesotho's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations distanced itself from Lipholo, stating he was acting on his own agenda, and the UN trip was not sanctioned by the Maseru government. Last week, national commissioner of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), advocate Borotho Matsoso, told Newzroom Afrika that the information regarding the military-style training of Basotho in South Africa is credible. Matsoso said the militant group calls itself Malata Naha (land reclaimers) is active within the borders of South Africa and seems to be 'ready to take over'. 'It is not necessarily young Basotho, but Basotho nationals of different ages, we have discovered that they have been recruited to join this military training in some of the farms in South Africa. This is what we have come across. He added that the programme has the possibility of disrupting peace and security in the region. Some South African citizens, according to Matsoso, have been sucked into the military-style training programme at unidentified farms. [email protected] IOL News
